A Midwestern Grandma

            

 Lawyers should never ask a Midwestern grandma a question if they aren't prepared for the answer. In a trial, a small-town prosecuting attorney called his first witness, a grandmotherly, elderly woman to the stand. He approached her and asked, "Mrs. Jones, do you know me?"

            She responded, "Why, yes, I do know you, Mr. Williams. I've known you since you were a young boy, and frankly, you've been a big disappointment to me. You lie, you cheat on your wife, and you manipulate people and talk about them behind their backs. You think you're a big shot when you haven't the brains to realize you never will amount to anything more than a two-bit paper pusher! Yes, I know you."

            The lawyer was stunned! Not knowing what else to do, he pointed across the room and asked, "Mrs. Jones, do you know the defence attorney?"

            She again replied, "Why, yes, I do. I've known Mr. Bradley since he was a youngster, too. He's lazy, bigoted, and he has a drinking problem. He can't build a normal relationship with anyone and his law practice is one of the worst in the entire state. Not to mention he cheated on his wife with three different women. One of them was your wife. Yes, I know him."

            The defence attorney almost died. The judge asked both counsellors to approach the bench and, in a very quiet voice, said, "If either of you idiots asks her if she knows me, I'll send you to the electric chair."

Good Or Bad, Hard To Say

            

Once upon a time, there was a king. The king liked one of his followers very much because he was very wise and always gave very useful advice. Therefore, the king took him along wherever he went.

            One day, a dog bit the king. The finger was injured and the wound was getting worse. He asked the follower if that was a bad sign. The follower said, “Good or bad, hard to say”. In the end, the finger of the king was so bad that it had to be cut. The king asked the follower again if that was a bad sign. Again, the follower gave the same answer, “Good or bad, hard to say.” The king became very angry and sent the follower to prison.

            One day, the king went hunting in the jungle. He got excited when he was on the chase of a deer. Deeper and deeper he went inside the jungle. In the end he found himself lost in the jungle. To make things worse, the native people who lived inside the jungle captured him. They wanted to sacrifice him to their god. But when they noticed that the king had one finger short, they released him immediately as he was not a perfect man anymore and not suitable for sacrifice.

            The king managed to get back to his palace after all. And he finally understood the follower's wise quote, “Good or bad, hard to say”. If he hadn’t lost one finger, the native people could have killed him. He ordered the follower to be released, and apologized to him. But to the king’s amazement, the follower was not mad at him at all. Instead, the follower said, “It wasn’t a bad thing that you locked me up.”

            Why? Because if the king hadn’t locked the follower up, he would have brought the follower along to the jungle. If the native found that the king was not suitable, they would have used the follower. Again, the quote ‘Good or bad, hard to say’ stands.

            The moral of the story is that everything that happens in this world, there is no absolute good or bad. Sometimes good things turned out to be bad things eventually, while bad things become a gain.

            Whatever good things that happen to you, enjoy it, but don’t have to hold too tight to it, treat it as a surprise in your life. Whatever bad things that happen to you, don’t have to feel too sad or despair, in the end, it might not be a total bad thing after all.

            If one can understand this, he or she will find life much easier.

Smile

You know how we sometimes ask our friends the question, “What is it in a person that attracts you?” and we get all sorts of answers. Or when we were asked that question and we could not come up with a satisfying answer.

Until recently, I wasn’t quite sure what is it in a person that attracts me. Now, if anyone were to ask me that question, I would answer, ‘the smile’, without a second thought. I think a smiling face attracts me most in a person.

To me, a genuine smile radiates warmth, and shows that the person is sincere, happy, well adjusted. A smile relaxes me, assures me that all is well, that my presence is appreciated - it shows comradeship. A smile also does wonders for our appearance. To me, a face with a smile is never ugly.

Does a smile do anything for you?

Do not go for looks; they can deceive. Do not go for wealth; even that fades away. Go for someone who makes you smile, because it takes only a smile to make a dark day seem bright. Find the one that makes your heart smile. Unknown

Smile. The sunshine of your smile might chase the clouds from someone’s life today. It may be the ray of sunshine that someone needs in an otherwise stormy day. Unknown

Never frown, even when you are sad, because you never know who is falling in love with your smile! Unknown

A smile is an inexpensive way to change your looks. - Charles Gordy

The Value of a smile

A smile costs nothing but creates much. It enriches those who receive without impoverishing those who give. It happens in a flash and the memory of it sometimes lasts forever. It creates happiness in the home, fosters goodwill in a business and is the countersign of friends. It is rest to the weary, daylight to the discouraged, sunshine to the sad and nature’s best antidote for trouble. Yet it cannot be bought, begged, borrowed or stolen, for it is something that is no earthly good to anybody until it is given away. None is so rich that they can get along without it and nobody needs a smile as much as those who have none left to give away. - Unknown

If you will force yourself to smile, you'll end up laughing. You will be cheerful because you smiled. Repeated experiments prove that when man assumes the facial expression of a given mental mood – any given mood – then that mental mood itself will follow. - Kenneth Goode

One of the ceaseless wonders of the world is the power of a smile. - Malcom Forbes

Smile, it is the key that fits the lock of everybody's heart. - Anthony D'Angelo

A warm smile is the universal language of kindness. - William Arthur Ward

What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity. These are but trifles, to be sure; but, scattered along life's pathway, the good they do is inconceivable. - Joseph Addison

Sometimes just a smile on our face can help to make this world a better place. - Robert Alan

A smile

The following was extracted from an article by Chris R Warnken

            Everybody knows the meaning of a smile. It is a pleased or amused expression of the face, characterized by a raising up of the corners of the mouth.

            Under certain emotional circumstances a human being will smile involuntarily. Indeed, there are times when a concerted effort must be made to suppress a smile. At other times, a definite and specific effort must be made to form a smile upon the countenance.

            People smile for many reasons. Perhaps in admiration. Perhaps we smile in appreciation. Sometimes we smile in encouragement. Sometimes we smile of patience.

            When we are subjected to the valley of shadows, as each of us inevitable must be, when all of our best efforts seem to fail, when our trusted friends fail us; when every impulse within us moves us to cry out in anger and protest, when it is so difficult to refrain from weeping, the supreme test is to force a smile. Then, a smile means ‘this, too, will pass away.’ It means that we have faith and confidence in ourselves, and we realize that each of us must experience both the pleasant and unpleasant, and that we should not add our burden to that of others. It is not easy! But it can be done. Each smile of strength is a great step forward on our path of life.

            The epitome of all smiles is the smile of love. It is the most revealing; it is the easiest if sincere, it is the most needed smile in the world. It is the most disarming weapon in the world. Few can resist a genuine smile of love.

            The smile of love is complex, for it embodies the mechanics of all smiles: admiration, appreciation, encouragement, patience, and strength. It is finished off with a distinctive glow that makes it unique and unmistakable. Whether it is directed outward singularly or collectively, it is all-powerful.

A smile is a curve that sets everything straight. - Phyllis Diller

Laughter- Quotes

Laughter is a unique medicine that places your problems in perspective, relaxes your tense muscles, reassures those around you, and helps you to enjoy life even when you don’t have everything you want. - Unknown

A smile starts on the lips, A grin spreads to the eyes, A chuckle comes from the belly; But a good laugh bursts forth from the soul, Overflows, and bubbles all around. - Carolyn Birmingham

Laughing may be one of nature’s cleverest tricks for keeping us healthy and safe. - Jeffrey Kluger

Laughter is a form of internal jogging. What a nice way to get the lungs to move and the blood to circulate. - Berk

The most wasted of all days is that on which one has not laughed. - Nicolas-Sebastien Chamfort

You grow up the day you have your first real laugh - at yourself. - Ethel Barrymore

At the height of laughter, the universe is flung into a kaleidoscope of new possibilities. Unknown

Laughter is the jam on the toast of life. It adds flavour, keeps it from being too dry and makes it easier to swallow. Unknown

The person who knows how to laugh at himself will never cease to be amused. - Shirley MacLaine

Have a good laugh at yourself from time to time; A laugh at your own expense costs you nothing. Unknown

If you can laugh at it, you can live with it. - Erma Bombeck

Laughter is an instant vacation. Unknown

Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face. - Victor Hugo

A man isn't poor if he can still laugh. - Raymond Hitchcock

Laughter is the shortest distance between two people. - Victor Borge

Always laugh when you can. It is cheap medicine. - Lord Byron

Humour - Quotes

It makes no difference what kind of humour you indulge in, whether you revel in the coarsest puns or dwell on nihilistic black humour. As long as you engage in this type of activity you keep your mind working, sharp and nimble. It is a prevention against depression, a truly therapeutic agent of positive self healing. - Unknown

If you could choose one characteristic that would get you through life, choose a sense of humour. - Jennifer Jones

There is no defence against adverse fortune which is as effectual as an habitual sense of humour. - Unknown

A person without a sense of humour is like a wagon without springs—jolted by every pebble in the road. - Unknown

Humour is a rubber sword - it allows you to make a point without drawing blood. - Unknown

Humour is the instinct for taking pain playfully. - Unknown

Every survival kit should include a sense of humour. - Unknown

The sense of humour is the oil of life's engine. Without it, the machinery creaks and groans. - G. S. Merriam

It is the ability to take a joke, not make one, that proves you have a sense of humour. - Max Eastman

Like a welcome summer rain, humour may suddenly cleanse and cool the earth, the air and you. - James Langston Hughes

A sense of humour can help you overlook the unattractive, tolerate the unpleasant, cope with the unexpected, and smile through the unbearable. - Moshe Waldoks

Humour is a social lubricant that helps us get over some of the bad spots. - Steve Allen

Cultivate these four Character Traits

While we still may not have the necessary wisdom to see things for what they are, nor have the ability to control our mind’s negative reaction to things and situations, resulting in our unhappiness, there are certain character traits which when cultivated will help us be happier people.

First and foremost, we need to cultivate a sense of humour. Life being what it is, things will not always go according to what we planned, or the way we intended them to. Uncertainty and unpredictability in life means that the most well laid plans can still go wrong causing us frustrations when we least expected it. When that happens, humour is our first line of defence against unhappiness. Humour softens the impact of the blow and lightens the burden. Humour will help us laugh off minor annoyances and unpleasantness.

Secondly, we need to cultivate laughter in our life. We need to learn to laugh more; laugh at things, laugh at life, and most importantly, we must learn to laugh at ourselves. Laughter relaxes us. The more we laugh, the more relaxed we are. When we are relaxed, things don’t appear as daunting, so we are able to better deal with them. We cannot take life too seriously. We have to see the lighter side of things. The world is not going to stop for us when we are unhappy. Life goes on whether we are happy or sad, so we might as well laugh and be happy.

Thirdly, we need to cultivate the habit of smiling. We should make it a habit to wear a smile on our face, or at least be ready to smile at all times. When we smile, we give the impression that we are friendly, approachable, happy, pleasant and well mannered. Our smile could also mean that we understand, and that we empathize with what is going on. When we smile, we encourages others to smile. And if people are smiling, the atmosphere, the environment will become very relax and pleasant. We will feel relax too.

Finally, we need to cultivate cheerfulness in our disposition. Be friendly. Be the first to say a cheerful greeting. We will inevitability be spreading a bit of cheerfulness each time we do that. It might take a while before people warm up to us, and it might not work on everyone, but we should not let that put us off. Some people are more approachable than others. Pick the ones who look most likely to respond. When they do respond in kind, we will feel good too.

The above character traits can be cultivated. As we keep our wit and humour about us, as we laugh more and smile more, and maintain a cheerful dispoistion, very soon, we will find that we are actually quite relax and happy. We will discover that little things no longer irrtiate us so easily. Try it and see the results for yourself.

So, let there be joy, cheer and laughter in your life from this day on!

Happy New Year!

It’s Goodbye to 2007 and Hello to 2008.
Let me take this opportunity to wish everyone a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year!

Happiness

There are as many nights as days, and the one is just as long as the other in the year’s course. Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness, and the word ‘happy’ would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness. - Carl Jung

Many people think that if they were only in some other place, or had some other job, they would be happy. Well, that is doubtful. So get as much happiness out of what you are doing as you can and don't put off being happy until some future date. - Dale Carnegie

What can be added to the happiness of a man who is in health, out of debt, and has a clear conscience? - Adam Smith

If only we wanted to be happy, it would be easy; but we want to be happier than other people, which is difficult, since we think them happier than they are. - Unknown

If you feel sad, go out and do something for other people. It is difficult to remain unhappy when you witness happiness blossoming as a result of your efforts. - Unknown

Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared. - The Buddha

We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements in life, when all we need to make us really happy is something to be enthusiastic about. - Charles Kingsley